It's me! Bubala was the name my father called me. Actually, he was the only person who ever called me Bubala. Ever since I was a little girl and all the way into adulthood, I was always his little "Bubala". It's hard to believe he's been gone now 24 years. No one has called me Bubala in a very long time.
Just until recently I thought it was a silly name that he just made up. Then, when I was thinking of a name for my new blog, "Bubala's View", I was curious about the word so I decided to Google it. Wow! That was all I could say as I stared at my computer screen. "Wow!" I lived my whole life up until now never knowing it was an actual word! And it's a Yiddish word at that!
Bubala is a Yiddish word for sweetheart. A term of endearment, traditionally used by Grandparents, that references children. The modern usage of the word can be extended to any person that is considered "darling and close to one's heart." Well, that certainly explained alot. After all, I was his only little girl and I knew he cherished me heart and soul. It seems to have various spellings, either Bubalah or Bubala, which I like better for some reason. I even found it spelled Bubeleh.
But that caused me to wonder, "How on earth would my Dad, a 2nd generation German Catholic learn Yiddish?" I always associated Yiddish with Jewish? Did he hear it from the Jewish folks in the old neighborhood in Brooklyn where he grew up? Perhaps. Come to think of it ,I grew up knowing a lot of words I now know to be from Yiddish origin. The Brooklyn and Queen neighborhoods he lived in were mostly German, Italian and Jewish. But why Yiddish? Why not German or Italian? And how did my father come to know Yiddish so well?
I had no idea of the languages history, so after some internet research I learned that Yiddish is actually German! I didn't know that. It had is origins in Germany by the Ashkenazi Jews who lived along the Rhine River. The region in Germany where my Grandparents were from! As I kept reading, alot of my family's use of this language made sense. There had been periodic assertion that Yiddish is a dialect of German, or even "just broken German", more of a linguistic mishmash than a true language. It is written with Hebrew letters, and is written and spoken in many Orthodox Jewish communities around the world and most certainly in the many Jewish communities in Brooklyn. Most of the Jewish immigrants to the New York metropolitan area during the years of Ellis Island considered Yiddish their native language.
On the eve of World War II, there were 11 to 13 million Yiddish speakers. Sadly, the Holocaust, however, led to a dramatic, sudden decline in the use of Yiddish, as the extensive Jewish communities, both secular and religious, that used Yiddish in their day-to-day life were largely destroyed. Around five million people—85 percent of the Jews who died in the Holocaust—were speakers of Yiddish. I'm sure there is so much more behind this interesting and forgotten language that I do not know or understand, but it is endearing to me that through my ancestors my life has been touched in some way by it's history.
I started thinking of the "endearing"words I heard my father and his side of the family speak to me while growing up, that all the while I thought was real German when all along it seems they were actually Yiddish! My father, his brother and sister; my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Fred, used these words all the time. Here is a list of the Yiddish words most frequently used by my German Catholic family that I remember. I'm sure you'll recognize some of them. If I find more I'll add them. If you can think of any, please let me know!
Just until recently I thought it was a silly name that he just made up. Then, when I was thinking of a name for my new blog, "Bubala's View", I was curious about the word so I decided to Google it. Wow! That was all I could say as I stared at my computer screen. "Wow!" I lived my whole life up until now never knowing it was an actual word! And it's a Yiddish word at that!
Bubala is a Yiddish word for sweetheart. A term of endearment, traditionally used by Grandparents, that references children. The modern usage of the word can be extended to any person that is considered "darling and close to one's heart." Well, that certainly explained alot. After all, I was his only little girl and I knew he cherished me heart and soul. It seems to have various spellings, either Bubalah or Bubala, which I like better for some reason. I even found it spelled Bubeleh.
But that caused me to wonder, "How on earth would my Dad, a 2nd generation German Catholic learn Yiddish?" I always associated Yiddish with Jewish? Did he hear it from the Jewish folks in the old neighborhood in Brooklyn where he grew up? Perhaps. Come to think of it ,I grew up knowing a lot of words I now know to be from Yiddish origin. The Brooklyn and Queen neighborhoods he lived in were mostly German, Italian and Jewish. But why Yiddish? Why not German or Italian? And how did my father come to know Yiddish so well?
I had no idea of the languages history, so after some internet research I learned that Yiddish is actually German! I didn't know that. It had is origins in Germany by the Ashkenazi Jews who lived along the Rhine River. The region in Germany where my Grandparents were from! As I kept reading, alot of my family's use of this language made sense. There had been periodic assertion that Yiddish is a dialect of German, or even "just broken German", more of a linguistic mishmash than a true language. It is written with Hebrew letters, and is written and spoken in many Orthodox Jewish communities around the world and most certainly in the many Jewish communities in Brooklyn. Most of the Jewish immigrants to the New York metropolitan area during the years of Ellis Island considered Yiddish their native language.
On the eve of World War II, there were 11 to 13 million Yiddish speakers. Sadly, the Holocaust, however, led to a dramatic, sudden decline in the use of Yiddish, as the extensive Jewish communities, both secular and religious, that used Yiddish in their day-to-day life were largely destroyed. Around five million people—85 percent of the Jews who died in the Holocaust—were speakers of Yiddish. I'm sure there is so much more behind this interesting and forgotten language that I do not know or understand, but it is endearing to me that through my ancestors my life has been touched in some way by it's history.
I started thinking of the "endearing"words I heard my father and his side of the family speak to me while growing up, that all the while I thought was real German when all along it seems they were actually Yiddish! My father, his brother and sister; my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Fred, used these words all the time. Here is a list of the Yiddish words most frequently used by my German Catholic family that I remember. I'm sure you'll recognize some of them. If I find more I'll add them. If you can think of any, please let me know!
Bubala – a term of endearment; often, a young child. The name my father always called me.
Bubbie - Grandmother.
Bubbie - Grandmother.
Bubbee - friendly term for anyone you like. This one has a funny story to it. One time when I was around 10 years old a friend of mine, his name was Carmine, called a Bubbee. That same day I went with my family to visit my Uncle Fred, who was in the hospital at the time, and I innocently asked "What does Bubbee mean?" Well, the room went silent and my mother's face froze and they all told me they didn't know. I was so confused. It was only when I was older did I realize they thought I had said,"Boobies". Heaven forbid they would have told me what those were!
chutzpah -nerve, guts, daring, audacity
cockamamie - not credible, foolishly complicated, ridiculous
ech! - a groan or disparring exclamation
feh! - How disgusting! Phooey! That stinks!
gefilte fish! - (German: gefüllter Fisch "stuffed fish") an Ashkenazi Jewish dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish or pike, which is typically eaten as an appetizer. I have never eaten gefilte fish in my life to my knowledge. But I sure do remember this word being used in place of a curse word from my Aunt Trudy on more than one occasion. I have no explanation for this.
chutzpah -nerve, guts, daring, audacity
cockamamie - not credible, foolishly complicated, ridiculous
ech! - a groan or disparring exclamation
feh! - How disgusting! Phooey! That stinks!
gefilte fish! - (German: gefüllter Fisch "stuffed fish") an Ashkenazi Jewish dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish or pike, which is typically eaten as an appetizer. I have never eaten gefilte fish in my life to my knowledge. But I sure do remember this word being used in place of a curse word from my Aunt Trudy on more than one occasion. I have no explanation for this.
glitch -a minor malfunction
gezunterheyt!- interjection said after a sneeze, equivalent to "bless you". Literally means "health" from German: Gesundheit.
klutz -clumsy person
knish - meaning "a kind of bun." It is a baked or fried dumpling made of flaky dough with filling usually potato. The first knish bakery was founded in New York in 1910. We had a great Jewish Deli a half block down Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood when I was growing up. When I was a young teenager a cute boy worked behind the counter. Needless to say I ate alot of knishes and barreled pickles. They were the best. The knishes were $.50. The pickles were 3 for $.50. The correct way to eat a New York Jewish deli potato knish is to slice it in half and slap lots of mustard on it. I could really go for one of those right now.
mismash - hodgepodge- a mixed up mess
nosh -snack
nudge- pest, nag, someone who is annoying and persistent This is actually pronounced "nooge".
oy! – (exclamation) Oh!; Oy Gutt - Oh (my) God!
oy gevalt – Oh no! (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency').
oy vey - (exclamation) How terrible!
putz - Fool, idiot, jerk
schicker or schickered - drunk, intoxicated (from the Hebrew shikur – drunk, cf. German
gezunterheyt!- interjection said after a sneeze, equivalent to "bless you". Literally means "health" from German: Gesundheit.
klutz -clumsy person
knish - meaning "a kind of bun." It is a baked or fried dumpling made of flaky dough with filling usually potato. The first knish bakery was founded in New York in 1910. We had a great Jewish Deli a half block down Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood when I was growing up. When I was a young teenager a cute boy worked behind the counter. Needless to say I ate alot of knishes and barreled pickles. They were the best. The knishes were $.50. The pickles were 3 for $.50. The correct way to eat a New York Jewish deli potato knish is to slice it in half and slap lots of mustard on it. I could really go for one of those right now.
mismash - hodgepodge- a mixed up mess
nosh -snack
nudge- pest, nag, someone who is annoying and persistent This is actually pronounced "nooge".
oy! – (exclamation) Oh!; Oy Gutt - Oh (my) God!
oy gevalt – Oh no! (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency').
oy vey - (exclamation) How terrible!
putz - Fool, idiot, jerk
schicker or schickered - drunk, intoxicated (from the Hebrew shikur – drunk, cf. German
schnaps – whiskey or liquor
schnook – an easily imposed-upon or cheated person, a pitifully meek person. a particularly gullible person.
schmuck: Obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person, or one who is stupid or foolish.
schnoz or schnozz also schnozzle: a nose, especially a large nose ( German; Schnauze)
spiel or shpiel - a sales pitch or speech intended to persuade
tush (also tushy) - buttocks, bottom, rear end
ai-ai-ai - (sometimes spelled "ay-ay-ay" or spoken "Ei, yei, yei") I like this one because it can mean both happy to sad!
I ran into this researching the word bubala. My Dad, who was born and raised in south Georgia back in 1927 called babies "bubala". We are not Jewish by any stretch. My paternal ancestors came from Scotland. However, one branch of the family came from Poland. Their family name is Pulaski. I never met any of the Pulaski's so I have no idea who they were.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad used a number of terms which, as he explained to me, came from US soldiers in France during World War I though perhaps he might have said world war II. He did serve in that war in 1944 and 1945.
Those words are slang derived from French words. One was bookoos, which came from the French merci beaucoup. It means many or a lot. As in "We's got bookoos". The other I believe came from the word Boudreaux, which is French for farmer. It came in a number of variations, boodro, buddyroo, and buddyrow.
Also, my Dad's family called him Bubba. That was as much his name as his given name. And calling someone Bubba is very common in the south. It has been given a negative connotation in recent years but it is really a term of endearment.
I have been wondering lately if the name Bubba actually came from bubala. Dad is gone now, so I have no way to ask where he got bubala from. But I can well imagine a child hearing the term and, not being able to pronounce it, morphing it into Bubba. They are passing similar.
Anyway, I was quite pleased to run into this. Other words in your list are likewise familiar, but not as heavily connected to my own family.
My mom used to call my nephew her grandson sean z bubalas
ReplyDeleteSeanzbubalas
Very interesting, I am an 81 y/o //Catholic woman of Scottish descent and have used that word for most of my adult life to my children, grandchildren and great grandchild, not sure where I heard it. I did babysit for children whose father was Jewish and mother Christian when I was a young teenager, perhaps heard it there.
ReplyDeleteLoved the meanings and origins of all these words ! I have used many of them most of my adult life ! Thanks , for the explanation !
ReplyDeleteI'm part Sicilian, and my Sicilian great grandparents used to call me bubala or buba. They immigrated from Sicily to the U.S. and lived in Lawrence, Massachusetts. I love the word bubala!
ReplyDeleteBubala, is my last name.
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely to find your post. I went looking for the spelling of a word I had heard so many times in my youth. I knew it was a "Jewish" word. As a kid I wouldn't have heard the term Yiddish. My father's family is of Jewish decent. My mom hadn't even realized that her German Grandmother,Mama Mount, was Jewish until she was an adult. She had converted to Christianity when she was adopted after the death of her parents. When I saw your post I went looking for your actual name, wondering if you too had some long lost Jewish ancestry. Anyway, I found it touching to read your story. It reminds me of a story about a lovely lady I once worked with in a Nursing Home. She was one of the residents and in NYC many of our residents were Jewish, many with the tattoos to prove it. We were going on an outing to a church for Easter Sunday for a luncheon. Betty was concerned that she wouldn't be welcomed, because she was Jewish. I told her, "Well, you know Jesus was Jewish, so I'm sure it's fine. My lovely friend, Betty, was thrilled with her new bit of Chit Chat and she ended up being the life of the party. I miss her still. Labels and divisions are only things we make and create. We can unmake them whenever we choose. We are all more connected than we think. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I'm glad the post brought back fond memories of Betty for you. Our memories make us reflect back on those who touched our lives in some way. Betty sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBoubala was my first girlfriends nickname we called each other. She is german and brown with eyes.
ReplyDelete